Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD Player

• Dolby Digital and DTS output
• Component-video outputs
• Virtual surround sound and dialogue enhancement mode
• High-speed smooth-motion scan
• 24-bit, 96 kHz audio digital-to-analog converter

I have owned a DVD-ROM drive since they were first introduced three years ago. I thought that DVD-ROM would be the standard media by now, but I guess I was wrong. The picture is very bad and movies on the player look like slide shows! So I decided to get a DVD player.

I researched for several months for the right player. I researched models from Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, and Pioneer. I wanted to buy a player for around $250 that only played one disc (I didn't need a multidisc model) and had excellent picture and sound quality. Also, I didn't need a player with Dolby Digital or DTS decoders built-in to the player. My receiver could do that. After researching and researching, I became interested in the Sony DVP-S360, the Pioneer DV-333, and the Panasonic DVD-RV30 player. All three players are good players, but people have been complaining that Sony's "PrecisionDrive" is very loud especially in the quiet scenes of a movie, which could get kind of annoying. Also, many reviewers were saying that the Sony produces a nice, but "soft" picture, not a crisp DVD-like picture. Many reviewers complained that the Pioneer DV-333 is not built well and also produces a soft picture.

Everyone seemed to love the Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD player. They all said that it produced a very clear, crisp, and vivid picture that rivaled the $1000+ DVD players and that the sound it produced was great. Also, since Panasonic is offering a $50 mail-in-rebate, I decided to buy the Panasonic DVD-RV30.

Setup took me five minutes. I took the player out of the box, plugged the power cord in, plugged the TV cable in (only composite cables are included with the player), and inserted the batteries in my remote. That was it!

This player has many features including:

Virtual Surround Sound (VSS): Uses your stereo system's speakers or your TV speakers to produce delays in the sound recreating a surround sound experience. This is personally one of my favorite features of the player. I thought it would be a gimmick that didn't work, but it works really well! I am amazed at the sound produced when VSS is on!

Dialogue Enhancer: Dialogue enhancer is supposed to increase the center channel of your home theater system by 6 DB which allows for the dialogue to come out clearer. Even on a normal TV system, dialogue enhancer definitely improves those DVDs where the dialogue is so hard to hear. I usually always leave dialogue enhancer on. Also, at night, I can turn the sound down and yet still understand what people are saying. This way, I won't wake up my family! :-)

Digital Cinema Mode: Supposed to improve the detail of the picture in dark scenes. I personally have not used this feature yet.

A direct-bass output is also featured. It allows you to connect your player directly to a subwoofer to enjoy the same kind of bass effects you would only usually get through a home theater system.

Other features include component video out, S-video out, and optical sound output for Dolby Digital and DTS. I am currently testing this player using just composite cables, and the picture is so amazingly clear on just composite cables! It is like you are in the movie when you use component video output cables, but your TV must support it. Check your TV manual to see whether it supports component video, S-video, or composite cable connections.

The remote is very intuitive and easy to use. All of the features the player is capable of is easily accessible through the remote. My only complaint is that you can't select a chapter in any sort of one-click way. That would have been a great feature, but it is not necessary.

I really like the resume feature this player has. If you decide to stop to run an errand in the middle of movie, even if you turn off the player and back on, the player will "remember" where you were in the movie and immediately take you there!

I have to agree with all of the reviews I read. Sound quality and picture quality is superb! Details are very crisp and easy to see, and fast action scenes are like a walk-in-the-park for this player. I threw all kinds of movies at my player, and it didn't seem to stress at all with any kind of scene. Even layer changes are very smooth. I did not even notice a single hint of a layer change in the movies I watched.

Finally, after playing about four hours worth of movies, the player did not get hot at all. The DVD inside the player wasn't even hot. Everything about this player seems very solid and will last a lifetime.

All in all, this player has to be one of the best players out onthe market right now, literally.

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This entry-level DVD player comes with some nice features. The Virtual Surround Sound may not be completely obvious on all DVDs but it certainly enhances the quality of the sound for a good cinematic experience even if you are like me and only have to speakers. The Cinema button on the player is supposed to clarify darker scenes and make the picture more theatrical. It does lighten the scenes a bit but you will probably find yourself keeping that function off and allowing the darker scenes to be dark; only turning it on to find details in poorly lit scenes. The remote, though small, is quite easy to use and you can adjust to it quickly. Many of the buttons are a little small, but you rarely use the features on the small buttons anyway. Overall, I give this five stars for getting everything necessary and a little more for [the price]. So, if you are looking for the best DVD player at entry level, I would choose this one...oh yeah, the one-year warranty is always nice, too.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD Player Here

I don't have a digital-ready receiver so I decided to get a low-end DVD. I did a little DCD-player studying with the intent of purchasing a Sony S360 (my friend has one). We've watched movies together on it, and it was so much better than my PC DVD that I had to go get one. *+*I then learned that the Sony makes a weird whirling sound while playing. The sound continues as long as a movie is playing, and can be heard if the soundtrack of the movie is quiet.*+* Because of this reason and because I wanted to be different from my friend, I bought the Panasonic. I am VERY happy. It's small, lightweight, and doesn't have the audio and video gliches my PC DVD has. I'd say if you don't have a digital receiver or a receiver at all, buy this model.

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I really did my home work before I bought this unit. I compared sound specs, video specs, and DTS capability. You don't need to know one piece of technical info to understnad my review.

I went to a local store and looked at five units between 199 and 350 dollars. This RV-30 offered as much as any at the best price. I even asked a kid at (a stoor) what the real difference was. He said he could have bought any one but got this one because it was the best.

I bought it and use it daily. [wasn't supposed to open it until xmas]. Super picture quality and easy to use. Not one draw back at all.

The Panasonic DVD RV-30 is the first DVD player I havepurchased.The player was easy to setup and run. I spent a lot of time reading reviews, not only from Amazon but other websites. I was looking for a good entry level DVD and the RV-30 and Sony's 360 models were the two having the least problems of the low end models.

Setup was easy and the manual was complete (Yes, I do read manuals). I did spend quite a bit of time searching for a specific item of information in the manual, but again, it is very complete.

I found the video and audio to be as expected. The picture looks extremely good on my 27" Sanyo using a RF modulator bought at Radio Shack specificly designed to connect DVD players to older style TVs. I don't have RGB connectors on the TV. I patched the yellow video cord from the DVD player to the RF modulator and coaxial from the modulator to the TV.

The sound goes to a receiver with digital decoding using the optical output from the DVD player to the receiver. The receiver does all the work and does it well. I'm sure the RV-30 is helping but the receiver does most of the work, and the sound is excellent.

Now the reason for 4 versus 5 stars. At about 1 hour 16 minutes to 1 hour 24 minutes into a movie, all the DVDs I have played skipped. They only skipped once but skip they did. Before this time period and after the time period has passed, no skipping. I'm at a loss but am going to continue to use the machine to see if this unique problem goes away or maybe occurs only on certain DVDs. It could be a dirty disk surface (all the DVDs I've played are rentals) but I'm just not sure.

Other than this one problem, everything is perfect.

Oh, by the way, I read other reviewers of DVD players talking about how long it takes the players they own to respond to remote control commands. Whats this all about? This unit responds very quickly to remote commands. By the time I find the button, press it and look up at the TV screen, the command has taken place. I guess some people have very, very quick eye to hand coordination